Linking Restoration and Ecological Succession (Springer ... - Inecol

Chapter 2 Insights Gained from Succession for the Restoration of Landscape Structure and Function 33
community processes are adequate and the goal is to alleviate erosion or provide
amenities.
2.3 Restoration Planning
Planning to facilitate the recovery of a landscape from anthropogenic impacts
requires knowledge of the site, of potential ecosystems that can be achieved,
and of the bottlenecks to development (Temperton et al. 2004, van Andel and
Aronson 2006). A clear idea of the nature of the site when active maintenance
ceases should be part of any plan. Planning not only prescribes the procedures
and protocols, but also provides for maintenance and management to reach
specific goals. It specifies the criteria by which a project is evaluated. Effective
planning includes proper monitoring that will be communicated in the open
literature. In this way, effective methods will be disseminated and mistakes
can be avoided. Restoration should focus on five stages (Fig. 2.1), though for
practical reasons, most effort will be put on amelioration of the environment
and establishment. Colonization occurs de facto when species are selected, but
many programs ignore species assembly and ecosystem development.
Planning starts with goals. Because late successional vegetation under similar
environments can be variable (McCune and Allen 1985) and because trajectories
are unlikely to converge to predictable endpoints (Taverna et al. 2005), goals
should be specified in functional terms after considering the landscape and its
biota (Khater et al. 2003). Functional goals can reside within goals expressed
as structural classes such as short swards or tall forb communities and their
spatial arrangement (Bakker 1998). Biodiversity goals derived from community
descriptions are available in many countries (e.g., Anderson 2005). The selected
species should be capable of forming a functional community, and their lifehistory
characteristics can be incorporated into planning (Knevel et al. 2003).
Before the start of major projects, existing soil conditions (e.g., fertility,
moisture, microsites), surviving species (if any), and local topography must
be determined. These parameters will help limit the range of feasible “targets.”
During planning, pilot studies with bioassay species (e.g., fast growing grasses)
can help determine needs for site amelioration. In extreme cases, bioremediation
may be required to reduce toxicity. At the same time, the ability of dominant
species to establish under planned amelioration tactics should be determined
in field trials (Palmer and Chadwick 1985). Pilot studies and field trials will
provide a substantial return on their investment and significantly increase the
probability of success.
Contingency planning requires a pessimistic view and a willingness to consider
rescue programs. Potential problems are associated with competition,
infertility, and herbivory. The competitive environment must be assessed. Plans
to remove exotic and nontarget species and to thin target species should be in
place, with specific triggers in the maintenance plans (Ogden and Rejmanek
2005). Fertility often limits development when initial stores of nutrients become
sequestered in the standing vegetation (Feldpausch et al. 2004), so nutrient
stress should be monitored. Other common problems, such as episodic
herbivore damage, catastrophic weather events, and unforeseen changes in the
local environment all need to be addressed.